Road Traffic Crash as a Public Health Issue in Nigeria： Review Article

Abstract

Road Traffic Crashes continues to pose significant menace globally. The burden of road traffic crashes is worse in the middle and low income countries like Nigeria despite that the region has less than 10% of global vehicles. The situation in Nigeria is even more worrisome as the country continues to rank low in World Health Organization indices for road traffic safety. Despite efforts of various government agencies towards implementation of policies and regulations to reduce the incidence of RTC on Nigerian roads, the number of crashes witnessed on various roads in Nigeria remains high. There has been reported decrease in the number of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths from RTC from the Federal Road Safety Commission in Nigeria over the years. This reported decrease in RTC and its consequences still require validation by reliable data which is yet to be available at the moment in Nigeria. The aim of this review is to appraise the current trends in the incidence of road traffic crashes and its consequences in Nigeria and efforts to reverse the persisting pattern in the country.